"Costume Drama"
Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artists: Various
Publisher: DC
Marc Andreyko experiments with Manhunter in a weird homage to William Moulton Marston. Way back in the day, every item belonging to Wonder Woman had an origin. These classic tales were reprinted in the seventies' one-hundred-page dollar specials that delighted DC fans. In one story, readers discovered how Wonder Woman got her sandals. In another, readers delved into the mystery of her star spangled skirt. Most of these stories were actually in keeping with the style of mythology and fable, and Manhunter follows in the footsteps of this tradition.
There is a difference. Whereas the tales of old and old comic books were usually larks; most of the items in Manhunter's ensemble derives from the dark age of comic books--the age that I hate with the passion of a thousand suns. So how good of a writer is Marc Andreyko. He finds diamond in crap.
The flashback story begins with Kate infiltrating the famous LAPD locker that was mentioned in the few interviews with writer/creator Andreyko. The bookends nicely illustrated by regular artist Javier Pina and Fernando Blanco segue into short stories involving the components of Kate's costume.
"The Suit" rendered by Steve Sadowski and Andrew Pepoy confirms my suspicions about the stellar nature to the body of Kate's uniform. The tale features a death of a hero, but it's mostly a light-hearted slice of life story involving a homeless man whose fortunes change thanks to the suit. How the uniform arrives in the LAPD lockup makes sense.
Next, Andreyko visits No Man's Land for "The Gauntlet." I once thought this was the least sensible period in Batman's continuity, but amazingly, DC found even stupider storylines to pursue for the Bat, and the bar drops lower and lower with each title's publication. In any case, the tale notes actual continuity for Kate's gloves in a hilarious vignette that reinforces the idea of loser villains.
Andreyko revisits the mid-nineties' Eclipso crossover in "Staff," and this recollection is just plain awful and unnecessary. Based upon previous issues, readers know what source provided Kate her staff. The story's therefore superfluous and lacks the originality and creativity of the previous shorts in this anthology issue of Manhunter.
All "Staff" does is remind readers that two more female super-heroes died in DC's lousy continuity. Rags Morales likes drawing dead women. So, let's have him do it. To be fair the dead male heroes balance the dead female super-heroes, but you know, I think this dark age has created a new comic book art form--snuff art. Artists such as Matt Baker used to draw cheesecake art in comic books where Phantom Lady showed off as much leg as humanly possible as she knocked out a plug-ugly. Nowadays artists draw Phantom Lady and her kind being slaughtered in comic books. Nothing for which to be proud.
Shawn Martinborough takes over the artwork after Rags provides bloody markers of the ever-burgeoning refrigerator, and here Andreyko muddies his own continuity. Of course what really turns me off is the presence of DC's versions of Dick Cheney and Condaleeza Rice--Steel and Amanda Waller, but rendered in moody perfection. The question the reader must ask is whether or not they're necessary to the story, and the answer to that would be no.
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